


Floral Hearts

by crankyoldman, drakonlily



Series: Your Empire is Falling [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Ardyn Izunia is a bad dad, M/M, Niflheim Prince Prompto Argentum, Noctis has three parents, Prompto was raised by a literal evil hobo, Three parents with emotional maturity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2020-11-01 07:34:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20811410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crankyoldman/pseuds/crankyoldman, https://archiveofourown.org/users/drakonlily/pseuds/drakonlily
Summary: In which Prompto fails to read signals





	1. Chapter 1

"I guess we're getting married."

_what a way to start a conversation_ Noctis found it odd, but not off-putting. He straightened his back and tugged slightly at the collar of his shirt. The idea was still strange to him, he'd never met the Niflheim Prince before, and everything felt sudden to Noctis. "Heh, yeah, I'm Noctis," he offered his hand, "you can call me Noct."

His betrothed cut a dashing figure. Everything about him was, pointed and sharp. Noctis assumed that had to do with the very military nature of Niflheim. Prompto Besithia Sur Aldercapt's suit was beautiful; the crisp white accented by gold, the crest of the empire was proudly displayed on his left shoulder. When he moved, Noctis could glimpse the blood-red lining of the uniform. Hints of red in the crest were much the same color. Sharp.

Then he smiled in an easy way that was more welcoming than Noctis expected. Perhaps Prompto was as eager to stop the fighting as Noctis was. Lucis had ceded Tenebrae in a final gambit to awaken the Astrals and end the generations-long conflict. Now that peace was being brokered, Noctis and his fiance were tasked with being a proper example.

In exchange for giving them a voice at the table, the empire pulled back from the buffer zone. Prompto shook Noctis' hand warmly. "Prompto, if we're not being formal." He leaned against a wall and snapped up two drinks as a waitress walked by. He offered one of them to Noctis with a wink. "We should toast."

Noctis smiled. He was determined to make this work, "here's to peace talks."

As the ceremony and talks lurched forward, Noctis continued to watch Prompto out of the corner of his eye. The other young man seemed to cut through crowds like a knife, but whenever he caught the eye of his betrothed, Prompto smiled. If it were Noctis, he'd put up a good front, but be extremely uncomfortable. He attributed much of Prompto's tenseness to nerves.

When the evening finally drew to a close, Noctis walked up behind Prompto and gently nudged him.

Prompto's response was nearly predatory and a hot second away from full-blown retaliation. The left side of Prompto's mouth curled up as if he had fangs to bare. If Noctis had feathers, he would have puffed them out in a defensive response.

The expression was gone in a flash and Prompto looked apologetic, "Oh! I'm - so sorry. I was ... lost in thought."

Noctis cleared his throat. "You wanna go outside a bit?"

"I would love to have some more private time, lead the way." Prompto sat his wine glass down and followed Noctis, slightly close and just so _sharp_. Something was off about this situation; however, it wouldn't be pertinent to assume that it was more than nerves. The two of them slowly walked around the ballroom, out onto the terrace, and then down into the garden.

"You don't have an armed escort," Prompto observed after a long period of nervous silence.

Noctis turned around to face Prompto. The other man had been following so close that they were well within each other's personal bubble. He was handsome, and it was a shame that Prompto was so sharp. "Do I need one?"

"You'd know better than me, I guess," Prompto commented dismissively. The two of them walked down the pathway further. "We're far enough from the front line here and No Man's Land is constantly patrolled..." Prompto crossed his arms in thought and looked down at their feet. He nearly collided with a creeping vine of moonflower that fell into the pathway. His eyes went wide - "I-it's humming?"

"Oh, yeah. Moonflowers. It's the Lucian cousin to the Sylleblossom of Tenebrae. "They have a light to them and a hum that daemons hate." Noctis gently took the vine in his hand and in a flash zipped up the wall to hang it. He sparked back down and then handed a blossom to Prompto.

Prompto's eyes widened, for a moment, Noctis was worried that his little magical outburst had startled his fiance. "Oh, fu- I mean. I'm sorry, did I scare you?"

In response, Prompto reached his hand out delicately to touch the blossom before he stopped. The tenses and all of that brittle sharpness waivered before Noctis. Of course, Prompto was nervous. He had to leave everyone behind that was important to him. "C-can I touch it?"

"Of course! It doesn't bite." Noctis reached out and took Prompto's hand. He gently placed the glowing bloom into the other man's hand. "They taste amazing too. Candied Moonblossom petals are a popular dessert topping. They make you feel warm, like a … sweet spice, if that makes sense." 

He watched as Prompto cupped the flower in both of his hands. The shine of the white-blue bloom drew attention to the blue in his eyes. For the first time since meeting him, Noctis could see a smile that was real and wide on his face. The pulsing glow made it bright enough to count the freckles that splayed across his nose but only for a moment. 

"I can show you more, it's taken over most of the east wall." 


	2. Chapter 2

Ardyn did nothing to prepare Prompto for just how _much_ Insomnia was. If he had, maybe he wouldn’t have completely lost his head over probably the loveliest flower he’d seen in his entire life.

“There are more of these?” 

Oh he was so glad there was no one else watching him massively fumble at this, the most important thing he was supposed to do for the Empire; gain the trust and adoration of the prince and kidnap him. Or kill him. Whatever would do the most damage to the Lucians.

He’d managed to keep his shock under wraps for most of the night. They had access to really good _food_ here. Vegetables! Fruits! Not everything was canned or processed, but he imagined even that was probably amazing. 

Lucis was a soft place, by all accounts. No wonder they’d been losing all these years. Considering that their future king went anywhere alone with an Empire representative didn’t speak too well to his likelihood to survive.

“Like I said, it’s taken over much of a wall. Like weeds?”

These were _weeds?!_ What kind of decadent place was this, that the weeds looked like they were plucked out of the sky? He had to focus. Ardyn had always said it was all about angles, and to never let his guard down. 

If the prince was going to be the sort that wanted to show him around, he had to comply with it. Besides, trust was key. 

“I hope it’s not difficult to get to. I was not gifted with the power of kings.” 

If he really thought about it, he’d probably only displayed that ability he’d learned from intelligence as ‘point warping’ to remind Prompto he was a magical force wrapped up in a person suit.

“Oh, ah, I don’t even notice that. I guess we can go the long way.”

_He’s a spoiled brat who values this illusion of ‘normal’. Don’t be too formal with him, Prompto, or he’ll be impossible to reach._ He could practically hear the Chancellor telling him, casually, like it was really easy to just walk into an enemy palace as part of some sham peace-through-marriage bid. 

Still. “No Noct, where’s the adventure? Let’s try… over here.”

It would have been _so_ much easier to just do a standard assassination. Completely stupid of them to let them go off alone like this. He took Noctis’s wrist, to guide him outwardly, but honestly to check if he had any sort of non-magical strength to him. Not bad, he’d put up a decent fight. 

“Oh that’s not--”

“Where’s your sense of adventure? I’ve never been here before, shouldn’t I get to know my future home?”

Prompto smiled, because it always tended to work on people. Ardyn had pointed out it worked too, when he was training him.

They walked like this for a while, out of the completely pointless garden and into far more interesting parts of the palace structure. If experience had anything to teach him, spoiled rich boys like this one were probably just waiting for him to find a darker corner. 

Plus, he really needed to help update some of the intel here, this was _not_ anywhere near where they kept the crystal. What kind of spies had they sent before?

He ran a thumb along Noctis’s wrist where he held it and breathed a bit near Noctis’s ear. “You’re being very quiet, what’s up?”

Noctis slide away like Prompto was made of snakes. Oily snakes he didn’t want to upset by moving too fast, but definitely didn’t want to be touching. Right. Soft Lucians. 

“Ah, we just met?”

Prompto couldn’t help but roll his eyes a little, but he managed to face away from him. “I didn’t mean to get into your space.”

“Is everything alright here?”

Prompto went through all the names and faces he’d had to memorize, and came upon _Advisor_. Ignis Scientia. Well, at least it wasn’t like The Immortal had interrupted their awkward moment.

“Specs! Was just showing Prompto around a bit.”

Ardyn was spot on in his assessment about the whole ‘normalcy’ thing. Nicknames for official advisors? Really?

“We have an official tour scheduled for him, during the official engagement activities.”

“C’mon, you know that’s going to be boring.”

Prompto agreed with this advisor’s undertone, which suggested he didn’t trust a ‘Niff’ as far as he could throw him. The distance was debatable.

“Yes, Ignis is it? What’s the harm in a couple of fiances walking around a perfectly safe palace to get to know each other a bit more?”

It was likely a trick of the light that made it look like Noctis blushed a bit.

Ignis sighed. “We’ll have an international incident on our hands if I don’t get you to your quarters, Prince Besithia Sur Aldercapt.”

Prompto gave Noctis his best ‘rakish’ wink, a thing that he’d picked up from some of the pirated non-Empire approved media. Noctis looked even _more_ awkward.

If not for the obviously low level hostility he felt from the advisor, it would have been a great first night. Ardyn would be pleased.


	3. Chapter 3

It was not a trick of the light that made Noctis look like he was blushing: he certainly was. Noctis could feel Prompto's breath on his neck and didn't know how to think about that. He shivered and rolled his neck to get centered. Prompto was undoubtedly attractive; he wasn't going to deny that. Noctis didn't like the whole feeling of conquest he got from his fiance, however. 

_there's no way that they could know about us not being able to call down the Astrals again._ Instead of going to his room, Noctis turned down a different hallway that looked far more like a servant's entrance. _There's absolutely no way that they can. There haven't even been espers in Niflehiem for generations._

From there, Noctis went out a door and walked into a private garden. The moonflowers were not the only wards here. The Crystal hummed above him; it took over the very blood in his veins as it cloyed and called at him. _I'm trying to think. You owe me a few years yet._ He glared up at the ceiling. The Crystal scared him, ever since the Vision, and everyone knew he was the King of Light. 

The wedding had to work, and peace _needed_ to happen. Noctis' very life could depend on it. He stood before a tower and slowly floated up. He loved the feeling of his feet lifting off of the ground, the way it felt like growing. Noctis wished there was another way up to this particular shrine. It would have been nice to avoid connecting his resentment of Bahamute to flying. He was nearly at the top of the massive room when he opened a door and landed inside without a sound. 

Before him was nothing more than a vast, railless precipice. _This is stupid, Noctis. He's already mad with y-_ Noctis didn't get the thought out before he was nearly thrown on the ground. His hands felt like they were being dragged into a vortex before releasing him. The whiplash almost knocked him off his feet. 

** _King of Light, We are not yours to Call as you wish_ **

"I know that." Noctis didn't expect the King of Aeons to appear to him. The voice was enough. "I just want to know, and you're the only one I can ask that would know." 

** _Even the Glacial?_ **

Noctis clenched his teeth at the back of his jaw. "Please, Lord Bahamute, are there Espers in Niflehiem?"

The answer was what may have approximated as a laugh. Noctis felt no fondness for it. Silence followed. 

"I was promised to be able to call upon the Astrals to defeat the Darkness. I feel like this might."

**_When you slumber I will teach you to bring the Light back, King of Kings._** The voice was then gone, and in the empty chamber, Noctis shivered.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Prompto fails to read signals

Prompto never expected just how many _meetings_ they’d make him sit in on. It made him fidgety and his mind wandered, though hopefully it wasn’t showing on his face. It was something he’d had to practice a lot, all things considered, as a spy.

Peace involved far more talking that he liked. Maybe that’s why peace was so incredibly naive.

Noctis seemed like he was much better at sitting through this kind of thing. It was a little surprising, actually, considering what he’d read in the reports about him. Prompto expected him to at least be playing a phone game, one of those that required people in Niflheim to jailbreak their phones to download. 

Well, he probably needed to at least make more inroads with his fiance. “Does that official always drone on so much?” he whispered lowly to Noctis, keeping his eyes on the windbag.

He seemed taken aback, which. Odd. “These are important details, aren’t you here because of things like this?”

Nothing worse than an idealist. Prompto had briefly been friends with an idealist once. She didn’t exactly last long. “Yes, but aside from the welcoming party this is _all_ I’ve seen. I think my brains might fall out of my ears.”

“Oh, do you need a break?”

“Don’t you? All work no… well, anything.”

He was losing precious winning over time listening to old people ramble about things that didn’t matter. And most certainly wouldn’t matter if the Empire’s plan that Ardyn and he were carrying out succeeded. 

Something seemed to be battling in Noctis’s face, like he didn’t know how he was supposed to react. Prompto had seen the underlying arrogance in him that had been part of his dossier. But there was also a hesitance that really made him wonder sometimes. Maybe it was for his benefit?

Yes, Prompto was _of course_ some hapless rube in the big city. Or was it a scared foreigner that Noctis saw? Regardless, it was wrong.

“We’ll be free after lunch. I’ll have Gladio set you up to get on the training rotation.”

At least there was something to look forward to.

He half smirked, just for a moment, so that Noctis could see and no one else unless they were watching him closely. “Want to train with me?” 

The Lucians in general were clearly arrogant, since they had no qualms letting him with a weapon near their prince. Shame it wasn’t a more direct mission, he’d be home after lunch.

—-

He’d had it under good authority that this Lucian prince was a bit of a show off. Prompto wasn’t wrong about that at least where magic and fighting were concerned.

“Do you do that zippy thing all the time?”

He could at least relax a bit this way, as Prompto didn’t have to focus on charm or remember names or simply regulate every action. Fighting was fighting, it was about action and counter-action and it was freeing.

“Are you asking me to go easy on you?”

“Not at all. Just making sure you’re not a one trick cactuar.”

“Cactuar?!”

“You’ve clearly never been in a desert.”

If they were on the same side, Prompto might ask him how to use a sword. 

Noctis flashed him a smile and for a moment Prompto forgot he was a terrifying conduit of magic and chaos. Heck, he probably would have had _fun_ meeting him on the battlefield.

“Do you always shoot from a distance? You hardly get in close.”

Prompto was pretty sure that was some kind of invitation. Wasn’t it? This was supposed to happen.

“Stop using magic and I’ll get as close as you want.”

“Might as well as me to stop existing. Think this is a choice?”

_They’re dangerous, those Espers. They can fool you sometimes, but it’s all about concentrating power, making you fear._

“Can’t help who you are, got it.”

Some things rarely changed.

\---

If Prompto was to look back at it later, it would be easy to see where he read things incorrectly. But the intel was biased. He could only be as prepared as the information. 

\---

“You’re right, I did need a break.”

Noctis smiled at him, and Prompto couldn’t help but smile back at him, mildly out of breath.

“See, all work, no play makes for a dull prince.”

“And what about no work? You’re not supposed to just be a trophy husband.”

The emphasis on _work_ was so strange. Maybe it was about the fighting, which while it was a bit of a game when they practiced, Prompto knew what a Lucian royal could be like on the field. He’d seen footage.

Prompto let his awkward smile drop and smirked, leaning forward to put his hand on the wall next to Noctis’s head. 

Before he’d come to Lucis he’d been a bit nervous that Espers would have obvious inhuman deformaties, or that Noctis would be a bit more brutish. But it seemed like he wanted Prompto to be more forward. More games? 

“Uh, what are you doing?”

“What do you think?”

“Listen, I just met you…”

Prompto felt a mild panic, which he hoped didn’t show in his face. It was truly political? Did he have a girlfriend? Ardyn had assured him he was the perfect option for this mission. He had to keep talking, maybe he just wanted to be talked up more?

“I mean, we’re both relatively attractive, aren’t some things just inevitable?”

Noctis seemed horrified by this, and warped away from the wall, out of reach.

“Listen, I don’t know what it’s like for you back in Niflheim, but just _no._”

How the hell was he going to follow his mission to get close to the prince if he was going to be so _weird_ about things? Prompto couldn’t keep the frustration out of his voice. “As you wish, _Highness_.”

“Just stay away from me. Got it?”

From the corner of his eye, he could swear he saw someone do one of those terrible darting warp things that those that had the King’s magic possessed. It made his blood run a bit cold. Noctis was already far beyond him, pulling out his phone.

\---

Well, if he was likely to get reported and replaced, he might as well enjoy the garden for the last time.


	5. Chapter 5

_Reasonably attractive. **R E A S O N A B L Y** Attractive_. Noctis was beyond frustrated and angry. It was bad enough that Prompto had yet to make any major contributions to the after-war rebuilding efforts. Now the idiot had delivered the worst letdown of a pickup line on top of being unhelpful. Noctis needed to vent, or he may cause the whole peace talks to crumble; he was already dialing Ignis as he stalked away. 

Before his Hand and Advisor got so much as a greeting out, Noctis launched into his tirade. "Reasonably attractive!? He is an _idiot_, Ignis. I thought things were going alright, better than I expected, honestly, then he says something stupid. How am I "reasonably" attractive? There are like 40 significantly relevant social media accounts about _my ass_."

"47. And what precisely happened?" Ignis' deadpanned.

"Prompto happened!" Noctis snapped. He placed a hand on his forehead, "Ugh, I'm going to have to apologize for telling him to stay away from me. What kind of pickup line is that?!" 

"A pickup line?" Had Noctis not been angry, he would have caught the uplift in Ignis' voice that landed somewhere between concern and panic. "Slow down, Noct. What did he do?"

"I told you! He gave me the most offensive pickup line I've ever heard of, and you know my Manga collection!" He took a breath and groaned "I have to apologize for telling him off. I can do that tomorrow, not like he takes any of this seriously. Ugh, he's just an idiot who clearly needs to be laid more often or something."

Ignis spluttered over the line. "I _beg your pardon_?"__

_ _"The aggressive wall pin thing did _not_ work. I'm fine, just _reasonably attractive_." Noctis took a deep breath and let it out. "Sorry to just lau-"_ _

_ _"Aggressive?!" Ignis cut Noctis off with a tone that was wavering between 'outrage' and 'outright murder.' "Are you alright?"_ _

_ _"Oh- yeah, I'm just mad and needed to vent. I'll handle Prompto in the morning. I'm going to take a shower and go to bed or something. Talk tomorrow." Noctis hung up and stalked the rest of his way to his quarters. He wanted a long shower and a nap before his breakfast of crow in the morning. _ _

_ _\-----  
Morning came far too early for Noctis because his Hand and Shields were knocking on his door. "Go away!" Noctis snapped from under his covers. _ _

_ _"You got a photo op this morning, Noctis!" Iris yelled from the other side of his bedroom door. "Remember?"_ _

_ _The answer to that question was 'no.' "I don't need help changing." _ _

_ _"You're still in bed!" Gladiolus cracked the door to watch Noctis sitting up, rubbing his eyes, "thought so."_ _

_ _"Privacy!" Noctis threw a pillow at the door that Gladio caught on his way in._ _

_ _"Do some more pushups, and you won't be embarrassed."_ _

_ _"Gladio." Ignis admonished in a way that surprised Noctis. "Your conversation with me last night has me concerned, Noct." Now that Ignis was before him, Noctis could clearly see the tension radiating from Ignis' relaxed exterior._ _

_ _It woke Noctis up. "Iggy, what happened?" Noctis swung his legs off his bed and stood up. "Is everything alright?"_ _

_ _"May we have a minute, Noct?"_ _

_ _"Y-yeah, of course." Noctis lifted his chin, and the others walked back out of his bedroom and into the living area. "Is everything alright?" Noctis repeated. _ _

_ _"What happened between you and Prince Prompto, Noct?"_ _

_ _It then, and only then, occurred to Noctis that the conversation may have come off harsher than intended. "Oh! Nothing. I just thought that we were actually… you know…" it wasn't as if Noctis thought they would have fallen in love at first sight, but he was hoping that the two of them could at least become close. Prompto was treating the whole thing as a show. _ _

_ _"You don't have to capitulate to his desires, Noctis." He adjusted his glasses so he could glare through them. "This is a political marriage." _ _

_ _It was suddenly crystal clear what Ignis was concerned about. He smiled and slowly shook his head "Spec-"_ _

_ _"I'm _serious_, Noctis. Don't make that face."_ _

_ _"Don't worry about me. You know I can take care of myself. We've fought for how many years together now?"_ _

_ _"And what if the enemy finds out you have a limp because of your fiance?" Ignis followed Noctis but stood with his back turned while his prince changed from behind a screen. Without looking, Ignis picked up the knee brace that Noctis used when he was going to be standing more than fighting and handed it over. "You're lucky to have that leg." _ _

_ _"I _know_," Noctis responded in an extremely un-regal tone. "I trust Prompto." _ _

_ _"What has he done to make you trust him!" Ignis' advisor image dropped the moment Noctis' did. "He's a letch who blows off important meetings; this must not be something he cares about!" _ _

_ _"I agree." Noctis clipped the brace on. "But, I still trust him." _ _

_ _Ignis made a frustrated sound. "How does that work? Noctis, please tell me you're thinking with your head."_ _

_ _"Because he's not the issue." _ _

_ _There was a long pause as Ignis waited for Noctis to walk out in his dress pants and shirt so he could look him in the eye. "Meaning?"_ _

_ _Noctis looked over his shoulder from where he was adjusting his tie, cuffs, and jacket. "I don't like Chancellor Izunia. Something's wrong there." _ _

_ _All of Ignis' apparent worry for Noctis' virtue melted. "So, we should look into that." _ _

_ _"And I'll handle Prompto." Fully dressed, Noctis turned and held out his hands for Ignis' approval. _ _

_ _"You do not have to do such things, Noct." Ignis made a few adjustments to Noctis' collar and swatted the prince's hand away when he protested. "Not everyone is as lucky as your parents in your position."_ _

_ _"It doesn't mean I'm not going to try, Ignis." Noctis headed to the door and waited for Ignis to open it for him. _ _

_ _Ignis snorted dismissively but didn't argue further. He opened the door for Noctis and began to run through the itinerary for the day. "You'll end at Ma Dincht's Beefbowl shop. Given the size, it will be closed to the public, but you should expect a heavy press-line."_ _

_ _"Libertus and his people are all security detail," Iris explained as she handed over Noctis' folder of updates. "Libertus will be your driver because, and I quote 'the last time we let Crowe drive Nyx had nightmares for two months.'_ _

_ _"We'll be following in the car behind," Gladio handed Noctis a coffee. "You'll have Pelna, Crowe, and Nyx in the front car."_ _

_ _Noctis made a face and sipped his coffee. "What's our social media status this morning?" When he was a boy, Noctis was terrified of things like this. People yelling questions, possible assassination attempts, the punishing force of being kind to people who hated you. Noctis wasn't happy about dealing with it, but he felt like he had surrounded himself with people who were able to help him become adept at the navigation. _ _

_ _And they loved him enough to need to check up on him after minor personal arguments. Noctis would be done with his briefing and his coffee by the time that his entourage arrived at the parking garage. As expected, his fiance shown out white among the darkness while the Glaives stood at attention. _ _

_ _Noctis took a deep breath, handed the empty cup to Ignis, and walked up to deal with his aggravating Nifflehiem Prince._ _


End file.
